RICK: Hey, how's it going?
What have we got here?
A couple of old World War II photos.
It was the first Japanese Zero that they ever shot down.
Wow.
It was actually over the Aleutians.
A Japanese Zero getting shot down in the Aleutians,
which is part of Alaska?
It's not really the Pacific theater, is it?
How is it I never heard of this?
I'm a big history buff.
So it's got me intrigued right there.
DONNY: Coming down to the shop today
to see if I can sell my World War II Koga Zero photographs.
I have five photographs.
I paid $250 for them.
And I'd like to get a couple of thousand dollars for them.
There was a lot of things really close to home
most people don't realize.
I mean, hell, the Germans were all through the Gulf of Mexico.
Where did you get these?
DONNY: I found these off a dealer up
in the North end of California.
July 10, 1942, that's not long after the war started.
At least we started with them.
DONNY: They say it was one of the biggest war
prizes of the war because they were
just killing us in the air.
RICK: Early in World War II, the Japanese
had the best long-range fighter in the world,
the Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
It was so agile and maneuverable.
It dominated in the dogfights.
I know they built thousands of them.
But somehow, this one ended up in Alaska.
They're definitely neat photos in a little rough shape.
They've been around a while.
Yeah, and these are some really brutal images.
It's not pleasant.
DONNY: No, war isn't pleasant. - Oh, no.
It isn't.
I know a lot about World War II.
And I'm blown away I've never heard
of this Japanese Zero crashing on an Island in Alaska.
And if these photos are as rare as I think they are,
they could be a major collector's item.
So what do you want to do with them?
I'd like to sell them.
RICK: The thing is, I don't know nearly enough
yet to make you an offer. DONNY: OK.
RICK: There could be a lot of these photos out there.
So I have a friend who knows everything there is to know
about this kind of stuff. - OK.
RICK: Let me go give him a call.
Maybe we can figure something out.
OK. Thank you.
RICK: The story behind these photos is so crazy,
I'm wondering if this guy got his facts confused.
But if he's right, I definitely want them.
MARK: Hey, Rick.
So what do we got here?
RICK: These are the photos I called you about.
MARK: The guys normally call me in when they have
a piece of historical material that they need a little bit
more information on.
RICK: Is this story true?
Because I've never heard it.
MARK: The story is true.
This is Lieutenant Koga, he was the pilot of the Zero.
The Zero at the beginning of World War II
was probably the finest plane in the Pacific.
This was part of the Battle of Dutch Harbor.
You're talking about way out on the Aleutian Islands
up in Alaska.
The Japanese actually took two islands from America.
It's the only place where they actually
occupied mainland territory, and on June 3 bombed Dutch Harbor.
And what the Japanese were trying to do in that battle
was to draw some of our ships away from the Battle of Midway.
Well, it didn't work.
We ended up sinking four of their carriers at Midway,
turned the tide of war at that point.
At the same time, this was shot down.
There's actually a picture of this plane trailing
oil going over Dutch Harbor.
These men were brought in to salvage.
This plane this was the first Zero
that we were able to bring back to the States
and get back into flying shape.
And that was important.
What we can test on this is things like its turning radius,
its speed to climb.
Once we knew that, then our pilots could be trained
how to deal with the Zero.
This individual crash made a great difference
in our war effort.
RICK: So are these photos rare?
I've seen a couple of these photographs before.
They do exist out there.
I've seen one of those. DONNY: Oh, you have?
MARK: Yeah.
DONNY: I've seen the one in his flight suit.
MARK: And then, this one, this particular one.
If I can come up with two of them
without too much research--
DONNY: Right.
MARK: And then, I'm sure that the other ones are out there.
All right. Thanks, Mark.
Thank you.
RICK: You're the best.
Even though they're not one-of-a-kind,
unique photographs, they are period photographs.
They are originals from 1942.
So I think that they will sell.
People will want these.
So what do you want for them?
Well, I'm realistic.
How about $750?
You know, I know you paid $250 for them.
And I'm not even thinking that much money.
DONNY: Oh.
RICK: I mean, they're World War II photos.
But there are other ones out there.
They can be reproduced.
Yeah, I'd go $100.
I mean, that's--
Yeah, there's no way $100 on this.
I was hoping to pick these up for cheap
because I really don't know what I'm going to get for them.
But my gut tells me a World War II collector
is going to want them.
Like, $500 is probably the best I could do.
I mean, guys collect stuff like this.
But they don't pay a lot.
I'll go $200.
And I'm stretching at that.
Meet me in the middle and go $250.
And they'd look good in here.
- All right, $250. - All right.
All right. Let's go write them up.
OK. I settled on $250.
It's not what I wanted to get for them.
But sometimes you just got to cut your losses.
And breaking even is not always the worst thing in the world.